Just got the ball :)

Just picked up the ball. (hey hypro Male)

here is a pic of the cage setup

http://img42.imageshack.us/img42/6564/tubsetup2.jpg

Cagte temp is at 82*
Heat pad 91-94 (covers left side of tub)
Humidity is like 68-70 (think it needs to be less gonna put more holes in the side)

He doesnt like the hides tho :(

When we first brought him home he went around the cage like crazy lol and wouldnt stop trying to escape. Now he just hides inside the log lol

Everything seem fine? Anything i should change?

Here is the log. It is covered by some of the heating pad so its like 50/50 between hot/cool side
http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/7484/logi.jpg

Just got him, as in today? The set-up looks fine - it can take them a good 24-48 hours to explore everything and settle down. Just give him a week with no handling and he should settle in for you. If he's still acting stressed then, we can help you re-evaluate. :)

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Originally Posted by rabernet

Just got him, as in today? The set-up looks fine - it can take them a good 24-48 hours to explore everything and settle down. Just give him a week with no handling and he should settle in for you. If he's still acting stressed then, we can help you re-evaluate. :)

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Ah i know hes prolly stressed just making sure cage setup is all good :) better to change now before he gets used to it. Also added pic of him and log. Not gonna bother him anymore. Excpet for temp check/cleaning.

He eats like sun night/mon morning so the breeder says (was when they fed em)

Should i try to feed this coming monday would be like 24-48 hrs of him being in the tub. He eats live.. Kinda dont wanna bring a live one home him refuse and keep a pet. Also i wanna get him on f/t any advise? Im not a fan of live (to much work + wife hates it)

I would wait at least a week -- and then feed him on whatever day works best for you.

My BP was 6 months old when I got him, and was eating live up until that point. I wanted to switch him over to f/t. I talked to the breeder, and he said my snake had a really good feeding response for him. He suggested I try the f/t switch on the first feed. I took his advice, and got lucky -- he took the thawed mouse on the first attempt. (He didn't actually strike it, I ended up leaving it in the cage, and the next morning it was gone.) After that he strikes them and eats great.

Try a f/t the first time or two, if no luck, you should probably feed live just to get some food in him -- and then maybe give it another go.

Just my $.02

Later,

George

I would skip the feed this week and wait for him to get settled. If you wait the week you'll know for sure he will be hungry and less likely to refuse. You wont be hurting the snake by skipping and meal and may be doing him a favor because the feed may add more stress this early in. My guy refused feeds for 2 weeks after I got him, so I had to build a storage tub for the mouse so I could keep him alive. Best of luck and congrats on the pickup :)

My male normal took 3 weeks to settle in before eating. I would wait at least a week before trying. I would cover those holes in the hides because they love the dark! I would feed him wantever he was eating before you got him. Once he feeds regularly then you can switch to frozen if you wish!

He probably doesn't like those hides you have because they don't make him feel secure. They are WAY too tall, snakes like something that is right above them. Also, light comes through them because of all those holes, so they don't seem like hides at all to him. I would say replace them with something that will keep it dark, and lower to the gorund, or cut those in half and cover up the holes with something. Replacing them will be easier and more effective. Go to a dollar store and buy a shallow plastic bin that blocks the light well. Then cut a hole in one edge to maximize the dark area inside.
I think that should help.
Oh, and your humidity might be higher if your water dish is over the heater at all. Just slide it to the cold side if that is the case and see if that changes things.
Good choice with a ball.

you can feed him when you think hes ready. i mean i brought mine home and she was hunting for a meal so i dropped a live mouse in and she took it only after being in his cage for about an hour or so.

Set up is fine, just give him 5-7 days to relax with no peeking in on him. you can offer food next Thursday-Saturday if you want.

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Originally Posted by mr. s

He probably doesn't like those hides you have because they don't make him feel secure. They are WAY too tall, snakes like something that is right above them. Also, light comes through them because of all those holes, so they don't seem like hides at all to him. I would say replace them with something that will keep it dark, and lower to the gorund, or cut those in half and cover up the holes with something. Replacing them will be easier and more effective. Go to a dollar store and buy a shallow plastic bin that blocks the light well. Then cut a hole in one edge to maximize the dark area inside.
I think that should help.
Oh, and your humidity might be higher if your water dish is over the heater at all. Just slide it to the cold side if that is the case and see if that changes things.
Good choice with a ball.

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Iv done all that. Them were old pics before we got the snake. They have been lowered to 3" tall and the tops are covered with the part that originally came on it.

Didnt think about taking a new pic since that was the only one diff. Also the water is moved to the cool side

69% humidity on the hot side and 63% on the cool side

flukers is on the hot side and acu rite is on the cool side (probe over uth tho)

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Originally Posted by RichsBallPythons

Set up is fine, just give him 5-7 days to relax with no peeking in on him. you can offer food next Thursday-Saturday if you want.

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The only time i have opened it was just to take a peak at the temps to make sure they are ok. But thats just cracking the lid

I should put more holes in the side to lower humidity right?

Hes still under that same log :P He seems to like that spot lol. But then again it is really right fit and only his body hangs out his head is somewhere in the log god only knows he hides it from me :P

IMO, the hides are fine. I'm currently using tall hides like those (Except the holes are at the top) in my tank and she's not stressed. It's much easier when it comes to live feeding as well, since the feeder can't go into the hides where you can't see them and possibly bite the snake.

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Originally Posted by Elise.m

IMO, the hides are fine. I'm currently using tall hides like those (Except the holes are at the top) in my tank and she's not stressed. It's much easier when it comes to live feeding as well, since the feeder can't go into the hides where you can't see them and possibly bite the snake.

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Well i hope to not be on live feed for long. Prolly gonna feed him a few times live then try f/t cuz its much easier.

Also what is "HET HYPO"

Het hypo means he looks normal but carries the gene for hypo. If you breed him to another het hypo, you'll get normals, het hypos, and hypos.

Someone else can give a much more detailed description of what it means, but that's the gist of it.

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Originally Posted by Elise.m

Het hypo means he looks normal but carries the gene for hypo. If you breed him to another het hypo, you'll get normals, het hypos, and hypos.

Someone else can give a much more detailed description of what it means, but that's the gist of it.

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hmm lol. Yea the guy tried to tell me some stuff about breeding..

Idk nothing about breeding we will stick to the one snake now.

Its a het hypo male tho :P Not great so it seems :P

How much should one cost?

Also got him from special k reptiles

He seemed to be a little more then some of the ones there. But the cheap ones were being sold by people who didnt even have a sign with their name on it. crappy looking cages with a bunch of snakes in 1. I went with a more professional looking group of people

Congrats on picking up your new guy...

If you need to bring down your humidity, make your holes a little bigger so they vent better.

If you want to feed F/t, then don't offer a live this week. Wait about 10 days to settle down and realize he's hungry, then offer F/T. I've found the secret to F/t is a good pre-scenting. Use a blow dryer on low to just kind of blow the smell at the tub. for a couple of minutes. You will know when he smells it. Then put the blow dryer on high and hit the thead of the rodent for about 30 seconds. When you open the tub, open it only enough to get the prey in.

Here is a video, where Adam Wysocki discusses feeding techniques, but the pre-scenting was what finally got mine to take F/T...

YouTube - 8 Ball Pythons - Feeding Lessons

3" may still be too tall for the hides. They really prefer a tight fit. Everything else looks good though!

It does take them a while to settle in to their new homes. When I got my first, she wouldn't even go in her hides. I think she was afraid they might have been home to some snake eating monster! :D So at first she "hid" under the accurite. Pretty soon, though, she figured out what the hides were for.

Well i had to move him out his tub (just making stress worse)

But i had to make the holes bigger (added a few) to lower the humidity in the tub. Was only for like 3 mins. Hope that doesn't bother him to much. Rather him be mad some random guy moving him to a new place for 3 mins then to be in ba conditions. :P

getting about 67% humidity in the tub right about now on the hot side. Should i add more holes or what:confused::confused:

His water bowl isnt that big. It sits in a hollowed out dresser :P

I got more holes on the hot side then the cool side
http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/8734/newplace.jpg

If those little tiny dots I see are your ventilation holes, then you need bigger holes.

I just randomly looked through threads until I found a pic (video actually, as it turned out) where you can get an idea of how many & how large of holes are typical:
http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...d.php?t=113529

67% really isn't bad humidity, so if you are getting that with those little tiny holes, you won't need to add very many larger ones. It all depends on the individual conditions, so it varies a little bit for everyone.

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Originally Posted by kc261

If those little tiny dots I see are your ventilation holes, then you need bigger holes.

I just randomly looked through threads until I found a pic (video actually, as it turned out) where you can get an idea of how many & how large of holes are typical:
http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...d.php?t=113529

67% really isn't bad humidity, so if you are getting that with those little tiny holes, you won't need to add very many larger ones. It all depends on the individual conditions, so it varies a little bit for everyone.

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i added bigger ones. See other thread i posted about humidity. Im getting 2 diff readings.. So..

what are you using to make you holes with?

If you have a ceiling fan turn it on or a small oscillating fan to circulate air around and across the tub will help bring down the humidity.

I make my holes with a soldering iron from wal-mart. It cost about $9.00.

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...8/hpim0303.jpg

I have found that 1 or 2 rows on the long sides works good. If humidity goes too low. Cover one row of holes and reduce air circulation. If it goes too high then increase air circulation and/or open up some of the holes...

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Originally Posted by Vypyrz

what are you using to make you holes with?

If you have a ceiling fan turn it on or a small oscillating fan to circulate air around and across the tub will help bring down the humidity.

I make my holes with a soldering iron from wal-mart. It cost about $9.00.

I have found that 1 or 2 rows on the long sides works good. If humidity goes too low. Cover one row of holes and reduce air circulation. If it goes too high then increase air circulation and/or open up some of the holes...

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I make em with the same thing. The cool side is sitting at 67% humidity now sure about the warm side. Will check that soon. My acu rite and flukers has about a 10% diff on humidity.

I got a fan but cant exactly keep it running on the tub 24/7

Flukers says 63-67 the acu rite says 73-77

I haven opened up alot of holes it has brought it down a bit